Taufeeq Umar closed in on a century as he guided Pakistan into a dominant position on the third day of the second Test against West Indies. The left-handed opener reached close of play on 97 not out as Pakistan closed on 202 for three – a lead of 251.

Earlier West Indies had been dismissed for 223, 49 runs behind on first innings. While Taufeeq was the star turn, he was handed several lives by woeful West Indies fielding.

He survived a close call from the final ball of the day when a huge appeal from Darren Sammy for caught behind was turned down by Billy Bowden after the batsman sought the runs to take him to three figures. Taufeeq was dropped twice before he reached 13, and again on 94, as West Indies contributed to their position.

Azhar Ali made 53 and Mohammad Hafeez hit 32 at the top of the order.

Wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the first two days, so it was no surprise that West Indies' lower-order resistance was quelled early on.

They started the morning on 184 for eight with Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul going strong. The pair added another 34 – 60 in total, the highest partnership of the match at that point – before Roach was beaten in the flight by Hafeez and departed for 29. A few overs later Devendra Bishoo gave Taufeeq, at slip, his fourth catch of the innings and Saeed Ajmal a deserved third wicket.

Pakistan defied what had gone before and made serene progress when they came to bat again. Hafeez and Taufeeq started brightly with the latter looking particularly impressive before lunch, reaching 39 not out from 49 balls. Hafeez was more circumspect in his 15 not out as Pakistan ended the first session with an overall lead of 104.

The momentum remained with the tourists in the afternoon although Hafeez did fall with the score on 82 – bowled off an inside edge by the captain Sammy. But Ali joined Taufeeq and they made untroubled, if unspectacular, progress as Pakistan reached tea on 131 for one.

The grind continued in the evening though West Indies did make some inroads. Ali was the second Pakistan batsman to go, shortly after reaching his half-century, edging Bishoo to Sammy at first slip. A stunning catch from the wicketkeeper, Carlton Baugh, then saw Asad Shafiq depart for four. Shafiq hung out his bat at a short Roach delivery and Baugh dived full length to take a spectacular catch.

Misbah-ul-Haq stayed with Taufeeq as Pakistan gave themselves every chance to level the two-match series.